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1 July 2002 The Identification of Xanthorrhoea Resins by Starch Morphology: Prospects for Archaeological and Taxonomic Applications
J. F. Parr
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Abstract

For Australian Aboriginal people plant resins have played an important role in both trade and the manufacture of hafted tools. In particular, the resins of the Xanthorrhoea species were widely distributed and favored resources. The aim of this pilot study was to: (1) determine if starch grains were present in all of the Xanthorrhoea resin samples examined, and (2) determine the feasibility of discriminating between resins of different Xanthorrhoea species by the morphological attributes of their starch grains. The results established that starch grains were present within all of the Xanthorrhoea species resins that were examined. Moreover, for the purpose of identifying resins from within this genus the preliminary results suggest that starch grains have sufficient differences in attributes to allow discrimination between species. The results suggest that further research into the morphological attributes of starch grains in resins may prove to be an efficient and cost-effective means by which species identification could be achieved for small portions of archaeological resin samples.

J. F. Parr "The Identification of Xanthorrhoea Resins by Starch Morphology: Prospects for Archaeological and Taxonomic Applications," Economic Botany 56(3), 260-270, (1 July 2002). https://doi.org/10.1663/0013-0001(2002)056[0260:TIOXRB]2.0.CO;2
Published: 1 July 2002
JOURNAL ARTICLE
11 PAGES

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KEYWORDS
hafting
residues
resins
starch grains
stone tools
Xanthorrhoea
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